After Fleeing the Nazis, a Legacy That Won’t Run Dry

The frugal couple bumped into young Warren Buffett. Now they’ve left millions to Israeli water research.

By

Seth M. Siegel

June 23, 2016 7:03 pm ET

How does one overcome almost unimaginable horror and trauma? For Holocaust survivors Howard and Lottie Marcus, the healing came, in part, from the hope that they could help to provide refuge for other Jews who might find themselves at risk. But after restarting their broken lives in America, this modest couple could never have imagined that they would end up giving what is likely the largest single charitable gift in Israel’s history—$400 million—to be announced June 24.